Calliope Hummingbird

Calliope Hummingbird, adult male; central Montana; July

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Calliope Hummingbird, adult female; central Montana; July

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1. Description
2. Sound
3. Conservation Status
4. Other Names
5. Cool Facts
6. Full detailed species account

The smallest bird in North America, the Calliope Hummingbird inhabits mountain areas of the northwestern United States. It is the smallest long-distance avian migrant in the world, spending its winters in Mexico.

Description

Tiny hummingbird. Green upperparts. Male has throat streaked red and white. Female has dull whitish throat and whitish or cinnamon-buff chest and belly.

• Size: 9 cm (4 in)
• Wingspan: 11 cm (4 in)
• Weight: 2-3 g (0.07-0.11 ounces)

Sex Differences

Male has red streaks on throat; female has whitish throat with few nor no colored feathers.

Sound

Typical hummingbird twittering and bickering.

Conservation Status

No immediate conservation concern has been documented.

Other Names

Colibri calliope (French)
Chupamirto rafaguitas, Colibrí gorgirrayado (Spanish)

Cool Facts

• The Calliope Hummingbird is the smallest bird in North America. Its mass is about one-third that of the smallest North American warblers.

Sources used to construct this page:

Calder, W. A., and L. L. Calder. 1994. Calliope Hummingbird (Stellula calliope). In The Birds of North America, No. 135 (A. Poole and F. Gill, Eds.). Philadelphia: The Academy of Natural Sciences; Washington, D.C.: The American Ornithologists? Union.